Istanbul Neighborhood Tour: Experience Local Life

Experience the real Istanbul on this afternoon walking tour. Explore the neighborhoods of Fener, Balat, Piere Lotti, and Golden Horn, and immerse yourself in the local lifestyle, from using public transport to sipping tea at local cafes.

Duration: 20 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Fener - Leave the main tourist precincts behind for an afternoon and explore the outer historic western area of Istanbul with the Istanbul. This tour will take you off the normal tourist trail and show you the former Greek and Jewish heritage, 18 & 20 century houses, Golden Horn and the rich Byzantine and Ottoman history that exists near the old…
What's Included
  • Return tram tickets
  • Visit residential neighborhood to see local living
  • See colorful Ottoman houses in UNESCO World Heritage site
  • Licensed English-speaking guide
  • Entry to St. George Church
  • Entry to Bulgarian Church
  • Snacks
Additional Information

This tour takes you to neighborhoods far from the main tourist areas of the city, offering a genuine experience of Istanbul. On this afternoon walking tour, you’ll be introduced to the local lifestyle of Istanbul. We’ll begin by using the tram, then visit residential neighborhoods to see how locals live in this cosmopolitan city. We’ll relax at local…

Location
İtimat Fabrika Satış Yeri
Avrupa Yakası
Our meeting point is in front of the İtimat Fabrika Satış Mağazası which is a diary store located at the right side of the entry gate of the SPICE/EGYPTIAN MARKET ( Mısır Çarşısı in Turkish ) Please stay in front of the shop and our guide will come and find you.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.8
(65 Ratings)
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Arturow_13
Apr 19, 2025
Walking through history and colors - Nice stroll around some of Istanbul's historic neighborhoods, with tons of history told by our guide Salih, also the tea break with local snacks was a highlight for the tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Hanneh683
Apr 18, 2025
Great tour with a really good guide! - Really nice tour! We had a great time with our guide Salih. He has a lot of knowledge and shares his stories in a both humorous, interesting and respectful way. It was a small group which was great - there was no need for microphones/headphones and it felt more like a nice stroll with a good friend showing us around. The tour was great to see two neighborhoods that are very different from the tourist-area. We took lots of nice pictures and had a really good time. This was definitely the best tour we did in Istanbul!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
K5053ucscottn
Mar 30, 2025
Vast knowledge of history. - Borack was a great tour guide. He met us at the designated spot. He was very knowledgeable about various times through history.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Goplaces611325
Feb 21, 2025
Fantastic - It whas great. We saw a lot of things . The food whas good. Nice to hear about the history. Salih did it verry well. Thank you(Amsterdam)
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Explorer48180126106
Jan 26, 2025
Interesting Tour - Our tour Guide, Sali, was great! He showed us areas of Istanbul that we probably would not have discovered on our own. His knowledge and enthusiasm for his city was wonderful.! I highly recommend our tour guide and this tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
476jamesaw
Dec 28, 2024
A Balat-tractive tour! - This was a fun little tour. I had booked expecting it to be a group tour, but I was the only one, so it ended up being a private tour. The guide Salih was great - he obviously really knows his stuff, is experienced and friendly, and doesn't just talk non-stop about random stuff like some tour guides I've had! Walking through Fener and Balat was a pleasant experience (despite the rainy and cold December weather); we had a nice little tea break; and the Greek Patriarchate Church was impressive. Lots of cats all around too!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Bellevuesummit
Nov 23, 2024
Good Learning Tour - If you are a history buff, you would love this tour. Non-stop learning of history and very nice walk and very beautiful Greek and Bulgarian churches. Our guide is extremely knowledgeable and able to answer all questions. It was a treat to spend the afternoon with him.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Cathy_d
Nov 5, 2024
Excellent experience - Omar was amazing! Very knowledgeable and fun. We liked the tour very much and enjoyed the tea and Turkish treats. My sister and I recommend this tour. Thank you Omar.
Review provided by Viator
Scenic21010490659
Apr 22, 2025
A Colourful Day - We used public transport to get here as it is out of the central area. You can get the T1 tram from the centre to Eminonu, get off here. A short walk to another Tram station and get the T5 to Fener. We wanted to go and see the brightly coloured houses, steps and umbrellas and wander around. The steps we found were a disappointment as they really needed painting! The umbrella bit had a barrier across the front and they wanted you to pay to go in. The houses were colourful but we saw mostly pastel colours. It is very hilly and has steep streets which put us off from walking up. It made a nice afternoon out and we enjoyed a drink in a local cafe. It is popular with tours and tourists but so much cheaper to make your own way there.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
V6238xvmargaretg
Dec 28, 2024
Disappointing and expensive - The tour started badly when the first of the two churches we were to visit was closed ( as it appeared is always the case on Christmas Eve the day of our walk). We were only ever shown the spire of the second church over a fence and told ‘ it will be closed too’ although Google later suggested otherwise . On raising this with the organiser the initial reply was ‘ the tour operated as planned’ and then an offer to go back and join the tour for the church section alone.on another day .Beyond this there was another fundamental problem. The guide was a generic Istanbul guide with no connection to or particular interest in Balat . We were told his interest was the Ottomans - odd when the tour material stressed this area’s interest was its Greek and Jewish history . We were told no more than we could have read in any of the main web descriptions of the area. The point of a walking tour - and this one was expensive - is to walk with someone enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the area who knows and shares details you don’t read in a standard guidebook. Our guide, we decided, expected a group who really wanted to take Insta pictures of the cute houses and had no idea how to fill the time when we didn’t . One good example was stopping by a doorway which must have been connected to the areas’s Greek heritage to be told we were looking at Greek script but nothing further. At the promised cafe stop (definitely not at one of the Insta places - we found them when we abandoned the walk ) he didn’t explain what we were being offered preferring to have his smoke break. All in all a really interesting area but a very over priced and disappointing experience
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $57
up to 10 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).